Are you sitting down? We have something important to tell you. Do you sit all day for your job? It is estimated that 86% of Americans spend the majority of their work day sitting. If you come home and watch television or relax on the couch, then you are spending additional time sitting. The average American can spend up to 10-13 hours a day sitting.

Early specialization in one sport has become a trend in youth athletes across the country. This shift is one that has young athletes training year round to develop a specialized skill be able to play at the highest level of competition. This new thought that one must train for one sport only to be and compete with the best comes from parents, coaches, social media and the players themselves. The psychological component plays a role as parents push for scholarships and players desire to be the best in their respective sports without understanding that early specialization could be more harmful than helpful.

A habit is described as a behavior or action that becomes automatic. We create habits all the time, some are good like brushing our teeth first thing in the morning, choosing a salad for lunch, or lacing up your tennis shoes for a morning run. Habits can also be bad, like staying up too late and not getting enough rest, cigarette smoking or overeating. These repeated patterns become hard to change. They actually are etched into our neural pathways. In fact, almost 45% of our time spent awake is performing behaved actions – why? Because our body is an amazing machine and wants to be as energy efficient as possible. But we also know that they are choices and thus are able to change. Through repetition, we can form new habits, therefore improving lifestyle choices and ultimately creating healthier habits.

If you are like me, sports are a big part of my life. I love watching sports, playing sports, and helping my kids with sporting activities. I work with athletes of all ages, and eventually we get to the point where that client feels they may be ready to start back to their sport. It does not matter if they were injured playing the sport they love, or something else has disrupted them being able to participate. The questions start coming out, “Am I ready? Will I be okay doing this again? How will I know if I am doing damage?”